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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: toast · bowl · capital · kid · hand · row · bark · branch

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. row — to paddle
  3. kid — to tease
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. kid — child
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. bark — to shout
  10. capital — money
  11. branch — a division
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. row — a line
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. toast — bread
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. hand — in cards
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. hand — help
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. branch — of a bank

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com